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Update on Sharon
Thank you, friends, for your prayers and for encouraging us and Caralina. Sharon's surgery was delayed to Tuesday afternoon (East Africa time). It was a difficult surgery, but the surgeon said that Sharon is resting and doing as expected this morning.
- Sharon's heart was shocked back into a normal rhythm prior to surgery. This should help her overall health tremendously.
- One heart valve was replaced and another was repaired. Great news!
- Complications: during surgery, the doctors discovered that Sharon's pulmonary artery is directly connected to the aorta, resulting in additional heart strain and excessive blood flow to the lungs.
- Additional bleeding developed after surgery, requiring additional work late last night.
The pulmonary artery issue is a congenital condition which was never detected by the cardiologists in Uganda or Kenya. It's relatively easy to fix in infants, but not so in adults. Sharon has been living with this condition for 19 years! The doctors had to stop Sharon's heart for 10 minutes during surgery in order to correct this issue. This is a dangerous procedure that can potentially result in brain damage due to the cut-off of blood flow for that period of time. We are in awe that such procedures are even possible!
It is awesome to have a Christian missionary doctor doing these things. He communicates with genuine compassion for Sharon's condition. He thanked us for the many prayers which got them through the challenges of the surgery, which took 6 hours instead of the estimated 3 hours - then the additional 1-2 hours late in the night to correct the bleeding issues after the initial surgery.
Sharon's vital signs were all "as expected" early this morning. She was just waking up. The doctor requests prayer that her brain function would be normal following the procedure of arresting Sharon's heart. The next 48 hours are still critical and Sharon's brain function is the doctor's specific request.
Thank you for continuing in prayer with us!
To God be the Glory,
Mark and Amy Gwartney
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